This invention relates in general to mining machines and in particular to a new and useful transfer station construction extending from a longwall chain conveyor to a drift chain conveyor.
The invention relates particularly to a transfer station construction where, in the drift region of a mine, the belt sections and trough bottoms of a longwall conveyor alternately cross those of a drift conveyor. The upper belt section of the longwall conveyor is arranged over the upper belt section of the drift conveyor. Toward the working face of the longwall the logwall conveyor has a plane guide for a coal plane and a plane chain. Upper and lower plane sections of the plane chain are guided at the end regions of the longwall conveyor, to drive units on the waste or gob side of the longwall conveyor by means of superposed guide wheels. In such transfer stations, the trough bottom in the upper belt section of the longwall conveyor normally includes a passage opening for fine coal or the like, in the area of the drift conveyor.
A hauling and planing system for underground operations is known which comprises a longwall chain conveyor with a coal plane guided thereon and installed at the working face of a mine. A loading conveyor is associated with the longwall conveyor in the area of transition from the longwall to the drift of the mine. The longwall conveyor has, at its waste or gob side, drive units both for the conveyor chain and for the plain chain. Guide boxes having a chain inlet, a chain outlet, and superposed guide wheels are also provided for the upper and lower belt sections of the plane chain. These boxes are at the ends of the longwall conveyor and thus are not in the way when working with a drift-side loading conveyor. Such a loading conveyor is located away from the plane area on the working side, but on the gap side the loading conveyor. Such a loading conveyor is located away from the plane area on the working side, but on the gob side the loading conveyor is brought back onto the longwall conveyor and includes a discharge end disposed above the longwall conveyor. It is then possible to move the coal plane directly into the area of transition from longwall to drift and to mine what would otherwise be a dead area. On the other hand, such guide boxes cannot be used in a transfer station from a longwall conveyor to a drift conveyor due to the alternately crossing belt sections and trough bottoms, at least at the drift side head end of the longwall conveyor. Consequently, in the case of such a transfer station, it becomes impossible to move the coal plane along the coal face into the drift area, so that a dead area is left in the vicinity of transition from longwall to drift, which must be cleared manually. This is to be remedied by the invention.